Eamonn Holmes: My heroes and heroines

The broadcaster on the people who inspire him.

Broadcaster Eamonn HolmesPhoto: Andrew Crowley

By Eamonn Holmes

12:15PM BST 26 Aug 2013

Clarissa Baldwin, CEO of the Dogs Trust

Clarissa invented the phrase “a dog is for life, not just for Christmas”. I didn’t know a lot about dogs until I met Clarissa but her passion and enthusiasm were infectious and we ended up adopting a dog from, and later becoming patrons of, the Dogs Trust.

Leonard Cheshire

He was Sue Ryder’s husband and an incredibly brave war hero who went on to found a disability charity. I met him when I was a young presenter and he had this aura of goodness about him – he was almost saintly.